Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Supersize Me
After viewing Morgan Spurlock's compelling documentary Supersize Me, how has your view of the fast food industry changed? Explain the persuasive techniques that Morgan Spurlock utilizes in his film to persuade his audience of the risks of eating fast food. How was the film educational in terms of the political machine affecting legislation, education, etc.? What are the solutions to the problems presented in this film? Be specific with your reaction and responses.
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34 comments:
As much as I wish his documentary had a huge impact on me and made me banish fast food from my life, this is not the case. He does a great job at presenting his argument it's just that I don't eat fast food that much to begin with; at most once a week, at least once every two months. So, the fact is that I don't eat it enough to effect me in an extremeley drastic way. And when I'm not eating fast food my mom cooks dinner so I am eating healthy outside of it.
However, the film did help pass legislation against fast food joints by making nutritional facts readily available and in the open; easy access. It has introduced healthier cafeterias in many schools instead of the junk they serve now. Many solutions are available they just are more expensive or take more work. The solution is really caring about health rather than money which seems to be opposite in many peoples' minds.
Chris Grenzig p.2
Watching this movie has not made me feel any different about fast food. If anything, while watching the film is just made me hungry and want to eat the delicious fries from McDonalds. Spurlock did use some pretty persuasive techniques. Although when he thew up it was absolutely disgusting, it got the point across that you can get so sick from this disgusting processed food. The statistics were very interesting and allowed you to see right in front of your eyes what the food actually does to your body in such a short amount of time. I don't really feel that there is a solution to this problem. People are still going to eat it no matter what because there is always going to be those few people who do not care about their body.
The film Supersize Me changed has not really changed my view on fast food. Since I only eat it about once a week or every other week, I do not get the harmful affects Morgan Spurlock had happen to him. The persuasive techniques Morgan Spurlock used was directly showing the audience how sick he was getting. He also persuade the audience be showing the numbers of how his health dramatically changed over the course of one month. One solution to the problem of fast food is to cut down on the number of fast food restaurants. However this is nearly impossible so there isn't really a solution because there are always going to be a group of people that always eat fast food.
Stephen Pulaski Per.2
Absolutly. I have never been a fan of fast food, but it is easy and cheap, and there are certain times when you do have a craving for french fries, or want to act "fat." I never realized that everytime you eat fast food your body craves it more and it does lead to terrible bodily issues. The film was very persuasive because it showed why people eat fast food: because it is cheap, easy to find, tastes good. Yet, he over power those ideas so called "pros" to fast food with several cons. Which include: the future effects of fast food and health. The film showed me that there has been much debate against the fast food industry and much negative press, but like one of the doctors said, fast food does not have to be so disgusting. Yet, it is that "disgusting" food that sells. There is indeed no solution to this problem that will come right away. However, there should be modifications to the food where it is not so bad for you, and if companies can't make those changes those food should be off the menu. I am going to do my best to no eat fast food.
Since watching Supersize Me, I have had a differenet outlook on fastfood. I don't frequently eat fast food as it is, but now i really dont have any desire to eat it. Morgan Spurlock was able to persaude me and other audience members the same way by simply going through the expiriment. It showed how unhealthy the food is and how it could have such a bad effect on your body. This film was also information about the political aspect behind the food company because he showed how the company targets children and what they do to sucessfully get millions of people to eat their food. The solutions to the problem presented in Spurlock's film were to see what measures companys woul;d take to get you to comsume their protect and how to realize that, obviously McDonald's isn't good for you but the film showed that could actually have lasting effects on you. Making it more realistic turning me and many other people away from their food.
Lauren Graff pd 2
I've always heard stories about the compelling documentary based off of a man on a strict fast food diet. However, actually seeing it first hand was very different. After seeing how harmful the certain food was for Spurlock, I was appalled. I had no clue just how many negative affects could come from this.
However, a majority of the effectiveness of the documentary, came from the techniques Spurlock used. Aside from just eating McDonalds, he made sure there was no room for error. Frequent visits to not only one, but three different doctors, AND a nutritionist proved that Spurlock was extremely healthy in the beginning and by the end he had become extremely sick. Spurlock did many interviews with the "average American," and he also visited schools in order to prove his theory that unhealthy foods surrounds Americans even in illegid "safe places." He worked with children, identifying the harms of subliminal messages, through the use of visual identification. Clearly, when a 6 year old can identify a fast food mascot over the current president, or Jesus Christ, than our country has its' priorities out of sort. Lastly, Spurlock did a follow up with a man who was in need of surgery for his problems. Live footage of the surgery made the viewers realize the severity of the concequences to their actions.
'Supersize Me,' educated its' audience in a legal sense as well. In the beginning of the movie, we are told that two girls sued McDonalds for severely altering their image and health. In fact, this factor fueled Spurlock's experiment. The court's final ruling - there was no way that they could prove that McDonalds was the sole cause in their health and physical problems.
In the end, there are very few solutions to this uprising epidemic. The only 'real' solution we have is to boycott the foods that are causing extreme harm to our population. We need to stop advertising, especially to our younger generations, the fast food industry. More advertising for the vegetables, fruits, and healthy foods cna only help. Most importantly, we need to put an end to our supersized meals. More like 'Downgrade Me.'
Nicole S
Pd. 2
After watching the documentary Supersize Me , my view of the fast food industry has dramtically changed. I never knew how bad fast food truely was. I never knew the effects on the body and how it can greatly effect your heart, liver, and lungs. Also, it is pretty sad how children are brainwashed by commercials and songs played on TV making them think that eating fast food is "ok". I also learned many people are brainwashed by advertisments and they are not even able to say the pledge of allegiance. I unfourtantely dont think there is a soultion to the problems presented in the film, people are always going to eat fast food because its the easiest way for people to obtain food and keep going with their daily ruotines.
The movie did not have much of an effect on me. Despite the fact that he exposed how the food is so bad for you, I have never eaten it three times a day for a month and i don't plan to. The film was effective in terms of making changes in the McDonalds menu and making people more aware of what they eat, but I would not say that it has turned me away from fast food completely.
Abby Dante period 2
after seeing the movie my opion of fast food has not really changed. i think that it has not changed because i dont eat fast food that much so i feel like its not realistic for somebody to eat it for all 3 meals everyday. some of the points about how the companys adviertise and brain wash people disgust me but i think that people need to have self control to. if there kids want mcdonalds once in a while thats fine but the parents cant let them have it everyday cause they dont want to cook. its not all the industries fault its both.
I do truly wish that by watching this film that I would want to abolish all fast food from my diet. But, sadly thats not the case. Dont get me wrong he shows an awsome visual of what fast food can do to your body and how it can damage the way your body functions. But it didn't really make me want to stop eating fast food. It actually made me crave it, as i watched him eat the large french fries. But as far as educational terms, well he did prove that McDonalds create these ads to make children believe that fast food is great,quick and fun.
Giuliana Modugno 8
Although the film was very effective in showing the dangers of fast food, I was already aware of how unhealthy it is for me. It didn't drastically change my opinion on the food as i still try to avoid eating it as often as possible. However, I was very disgusted to find out about the quality of food in schools. Consindering eduacators are always preaching about keeping kids safe and keeping them from putting harmful substances in their bodies it was suprising to hear that they are supplying food that is harmful to our health. Morgan Spurlock included annonymus people on the street in inverviews which showed that the fast food epidemic is real and effects real people. Some solutions to the problem presented were to abolish the option of "supersizing" and to stop advertizing on a level that attracts so many kids.
Julianne Russo per.8
The documentary had a huge impact on me and I hope it made a difference with others that watched it as well. While I watched this video, it really showed me how unhealthy fast food is. I am happy to say I try my hardest not getting or craving fast food. He did a great job proving his point and making his argument 100 percent successful. I was disgusted by the video, watching the foods being made and how sick it can make a person. This movie helped me realize what is really bad for you and how damaging it can be. I think "supersize me" is a great movie and really gets its point across. I was presuded and well try my best not to eat fast food again.
Jackie saggese
period 8
After watching the documentary, it definitly made me not want to eat fast food as much. I usually only eat it once a week at most though. Spurlock really made some good points and it just goes to show you how bad the stuff really is for you.
lseMy view of fast-food is pretty much the same as it was before. I know that fast-food is bad and I try to avoid it whenever possible but sometimes there's just nothing i can do and i have to eat it. But Morgan did a really good job of persuading his argument with all the resources he used. As for a solution to the fast-food problem i really don't think there is one. People should be well informed of what they're eating and they should make the right decision to eat something healthier. If they can't do that then in the long run they may face concequences and they will look back and realize that they should have made a better choice.
After seeing the film, my views have dramaticly changed, I no longer eat fast food, even though I havent eaten it very often anyway. I think Spurlock effectivley used all three of the persuasive techniques in this film, and I worked very well because the documentary has gotten rid of things such as the "super size" and "biggie" options in fast food places. However, I feel that some people are going to continue to eat this food no matter what it does to their body because its cheap and convienent. People don't like to change so I think its up to the fast food industries to make the food healthier.
Watching Supersize Me, my habits did not change, but my view of the industry changed. The reason my habits didn't change is because I rarely go to McDonald's. I've probably gone less than five times in this year. Other fast food is similar, with one exception : pizza. I eat pizza probably at least once a week, and since I don't consider it to be "fast food" really, viewing the documentary didn't change that.
My view of the overall fast food industry certainly changed. I didn't realize the extent that the corporations had power within the government, the money they had to pay for lobbying and preventing legislation that would affect their sales and regulate them. I also didn't realize how early they start to lure in their customers during childhood with the "play-places" and the happy meal toys. It's a little creepy, honestly.
The solution to our dependence on fast food probably lies in legislation which would regulate the ingredients and portion sizes at chains like McDonald's. These chains will never voluntarily produce healthier food that is more expensive to produce and won't sell as well. We as a nation need to decide that our health is more important than a modest increase in food prices - especially since the cheap food we're eating now will only lead expensive health problems down the road.
Stephanie Chocko
Period 8
Although the movie did do a good job of getting across the point of what so much fast food can do to you, it did not change my view on fast food very much. I already knew that fast food was in no way good for you, which is why I try to limit how much I eat it. I also think that because he went to such an extreme of eating it so much, that people will think that as long as they dont eat it that much, that it will be ok. One thing that I think he did accomplish was getting legislation passed to make it mandatory for fast food places to have nutrition facts available. This will make some people more aware of how unhealthy fast food is for them.
Matt Scicchitano- Per. 8
My take on fast food has honestly, completely changed. Usually things like movies, rarely change my opinion right away. But now, after seeing what fast food can truly do for you and after being reminded of how it really makes you feel, I have no desire to ever return to McDonalds. Morgan Spurlock uses actually evidence by experimenting with his own body in order to persuade his evidence. He also uses fact that he has researched on his own. The film portrayed the truth in government regulation of food. It is absolutely crazy that we are on the same meal plan as criminals in prizon. Solutions to the problems include turning to healthy eating choices. You can prepare your own meals in a perfectly nutritious way.
I noticed this documentary had a little effect on me. I now think twice before buying fast food just because it's easier. It defiantly made me think about what I am really eating when I choose fast food. However, I do believe it is fine to occasional eat fast food once a week provided you choose wisely and exercise. The documentary pointed out how disgusting the food was and the severity it has on your life.
However, the effect on legislation was much greater because fast food companies can point fingers at the government for not controlling enough. That the types of food students are exposed to at school are not helping them make healthy decisions. The solution for this problem is to install healthier lunch programs and make sure fast food is not hiding health information.
The documentary "Supersize Me" did not affect my view on fast food at all. It isnt a secret that fast food is bad for you and it has very little benifits for your body. People eat fast food because it is fast, cheap and tastes good. People who eat fast food excessivly know what they are eating and choose to continue eating it anyway. Eating fast food once a week or so is fine. I think Morgan Spurlock's documentary does not prove anything about fast food. You deserve the consequences you get if you eat fast food excessivly. As for the people who are suing or trying to blame fast food restaurants for making them fat and unhealthy, I think this is ridiculous. There is not a problem with eating fast food in moderation and living a heathly lifestyle and excercising daily. However these people chose to eat fast food excessivly and did not live a healty lifestyle, such as playing sports or exercising, so they deserve the way thier eating habits altered thier body. It is not the fast food restaurants fault, it is thier own.
As for children recognizing the characters of McDonalds, for example, at a young age, there is nothing wrong with giving your kid a happy meal once and a while. As long as you as a parent teach them how to live healthly then there is no problem. A solution to childhood obesity and eating related problems would be to teach kids in elementary school healthy eating habits and exercise them daily with sports or games outside. I dont think anything needs to be done about the fast food companies. Fast food places serve unhealthy meals, if you dont want to eat it do go there.
Steve K. per 8
Overall Spurlock’s documentary did get me to look at fast food differently however I still eat it the same amount because I never really ate it too much to begin with. My mom basically only allows us to eat it about twice a month, and for the rest of the days she cooks homemade meals. The documentary got me to look at fast food differently because I now know how bad fast food is and how it can make a person very sick. The persuasive techniques like showing the children different pictures where the only one they were able to name without a doubt in their mind, or without even thinking about it was McDonald’s mascot Ronald McDonald made a big impact. This impacted the viewers because shows how much McDonalds is becoming a very important part of this country and how the commercials and advertisement are almost brain washing the country. The part when the doctor explain how much damage Morgan did to his body, and how there was no way to fix that damage was persuasive enough to get me to see that I can never eat fast food that much. This film also was educated us with the information that shows how unhealthy eating is all over, including places like school. People may think that schools should be a place where children are learning to eat right, however this video shows how school food is just as bad as fast food and jail food. Some solutions to these problems include changing school lunches, which our school already took part in by serving things on wheat bread rather than white and by baking the french fries rather than deep frying them. Overall I don’t think these changes are really helping, because many students just decided to buy things like chips or a bagel instead because the new food isn’t good.
Jackie Loveland
Pd. 8
Supersize Me is a well known documentary and had a huge impact on the way people look at fast food. I don't think it was enough to make people stop eating it or to banish fast food all together. Americans may react to a situation at the moment but nothing is ever taken beyond that. We began watching what we ate more carefully but these actions quickly died down. Watching this film had the opposite effect on me, I more wanted to go to McDonald's than go get an apple at home. People know junk food is bad for them but it is a personal choice whether or not they want to harm their body, much like smoking. With the fast pace lives we live it is hard not to pull over grap something to go and continue with your day. Fast food venues should give customers all the information they can to allow them to see what they are eating and hopefully make a healthier choice. Obesity is a growing problem as Spurlock demonstarted in his film as a by product of eating junk food. I believe as an individual you must make the choice of how you would like to live and not depend on films like these to make a difference.
The movie reinforced what I had thought about fast food; we all know it's unhealthy and shouldn't be taken to that limit. He used a lot of persuasive methods such as pathos with the doctors telling him he was going to die. Of course, he supported his information with numbers, facts, and statistics adding the logos side of the argument. The film pointed out the corruption in the school lunch systems and the McDarkSide. His solution seems to be reform of the problems and to attack these problems by eating less fast food.
I usually don't eat to much fast food to begin with so the movie didn't have to much of an effect on me. Also when i do eat fast food, I know that it is unhealthy but I don't really care because I'm just that hungry. The movie did, however, do a great job at showing the bad side of fast food that people do not see. For example, without the movie, I would have never known that having an unhealthy diet can do damage to your liver. I don't think that this movie will solve the problem about an obese America but it is a huge step toward solving the problem.
matt gavin per.8
Supersize Me has not really changed the way I look at the fast food industry rather than wonder what products they are using where it is that unhealthy. I knew before the movie started that the food was not the healthiest choice, but to see what it did to him over a period of a month was crazy. That completely altered his way of life. The comparisons that he used were actually very effective. Especially the one where he compared McDonalds to smoking.
Chris McCormack Per. 2
Morgan Spurlocks film is highly persuasive. It demonstrates the harmful effects of fast food. These effects are stunning, and quite disgusting. But as gross as these results are, it doesnt effect my fast food eating. His expirement doesn't reflect how I consume fast food. Usually I'll eat fast food twice a month, that is not enough to expierence the effects he had.
This film should be life-changing for those who do eat fast food more than three times a week. It shows if you don't change your eating habits, your body and mind will suffer. The film also uncovers how mcdonalds works. Such as where they get there food and how they market to young children. Hopefully thats enough facts to prove to people they are a terrible coparation.
Bryan Martin Per.2
After watching the documentary, Supersize Me, by Morgan Spurlock, my view of the fast food industry has not changed. I had prior knowledge of all the harmful effects caused by fast food because I once work at a fast food establishment. Morgan Spurlock used many persuasive techniques to persuade his audience. Two things I believed to be very persuasive were when Spurlock used the three doctors to show that he started off totally healthy and in the end he wound up very unhealthy, and the other thing is that he used the “Average-American”, to show how little they know about eating healthy and how hooked they are on fast food, especially young kids. This film was educational because it has introduced healthier cafeterias to the schools and should how legislation created a law to make sure every fast food joints have nutritional facts available. Some solutions to this fast food dilemma is to show kids that fast food is not good and eating at home is much better, and maybe put a tax on fast food so it is more expensive and not as beneficial to the consumer.
Kevin Schlakman
Period 2
Some people would think this documentary would have the greatest affect on others on eating fast food when in reality, it didn't. For me, I still enjoy fast food and eat it almost once every 2 weeks. As much as he showed it can affect the body, not many eat fast food 3 times a day and the ones that do know they have health issues. But most people don't and can control themselves.
Although the message didn't get through to many people, Morgan did use many useful techniques to getting people to no want to eat fast food. Showing people the nutrition facts of eating McDonalds and in schools changed the way administrators viewed the eating habbits of kids and from that changed everything to healthy alternatives.
I can really say that after watching that film about that I am aware more of the real effects of that food but it truly dosent bother me because im not one to pick a McDonalds burger over a home cooked meal I did enjoy the way he showed each effect and all the ways he showed how corrupt the fast food companies are and I think he did a great job purswading me not to eat that food
After watching Supersize Me, my view of the fast food industry has most certainly changed. I've never been a fan of fast food because I just think that it is absolutely disgusting and it doesn't appeal to me at all. After watching what Spurlock went through, it really paints a clear picture in my mind of how harmful the food that many of us turn to really is. Spurlock makes sure that he is taking part in a documentary that will present the correct facts and make very little false statements or errors. He only allows himself to eat McDonald's foods and he also visits many doctors to make sure that he was healthy in the beginning and to help track the negative effects on his body after consuming this food. Spurlock also interviewed many American's to find out what their opinion of fast food was. He also went into elementary schools and asked children to identify images on cards. Many of the children failed to identify important figures, but were able to identify the McDonald's image. Lastly, he included footage of a gastric bypass surgery of an individual who had indulged in fast food. This individual was now facing the horrible effects of fast food and he had to have surgery to help correct the problem. After seeing the images of the surgery and how the doctors would take out the fat, it really makes you second guess yourself when you want to reach for that McDonald's hamburger. A few individuals have tried to take McDonald's to court and sue them for the effects of their food on their health. In the movie it was stated that the American's didn't have much success to help support them, so McDonald's couldn't be in trouble. There are only a few solutions to combating this problem. One is if we all ban together and boycott fast food, which in reality won't happen. Another is to help educate the younger population on healthy foods rather then indulge them in fast food. Also the fast food industry's have to fix the portions of food they serve so that it equals one serving and not five. School cafeteria's also have to change what they serve and make healthier options the norm.
Gabriella Sehne, Period 8
My view of fast food did not change very much because I already knew how disgusting fast food was. Before I ever saw this movie I only fast food once or twice a month. This film did get the piont across to the public and pass legisaltion to have nutritional information readily avalible. It also made many fast food places serve healthier options. To certainly was an effective film and achieved what the director had hoped.
-James Lopilato Period 2
After watching this movie, the facts stunned and shocked me. However, this did not solve the problem permanantly. I avoided eating fast food for about three days after watching that movie. It didn't stop me from ording fries a few days later when i was hungry and in a rush right after practice. The truth is that McDonalds is very convenient and it is impossible to ask people to completely ignore that there is a McDonalds right down the street or right next to a person's work. People are only thinking about the short term and think that since they don't have it that often it will not effect them. While the results may not be as extreme, it is still affecting our bodies. This film made me knowledgable of what fast food can do, however I was still hooked on buying their food. I don't eat fast food a lot and I don't think that when the time comes every once in a while to have fast food, I will turn it down.
To be completely honest, although the results were repulsive and disturbing, my view hasn't changed. Any meal you can get for one dollar and in 10 seconds just screams unhealthy. By Morgan Spurlock using himself as an experiment and showing real results for every part of the day and sticking to his testing rules it really shows significant and realistic results. The solution to all the problems listed and shown in this film are obvious and reachable. Health restrictions should be placed at all food distributing places and heavily implied. For example, calories. There should be a certain amount of calories one food item can have and if a restaurant goes over the limit, they should be fined.
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